Ramadhani wins men's marathon

MELBOURNE, Mar 19 (Reuters) Tanzanian Samson Ramadhani held off a challenge from Kenyan Fred Mogaka before kicking clear to win the Commonwealth Games men's marathon, his first major title, today.

Ramadhani finished in a time of two hours 11 minutes 29 seconds, more than three minutes outside his personal best, after building a clear lead over the final two km.

Mogaka finished 34 seconds behind Ramadhani to take the silver medal.

Ramadhani finished fifth at last year's world championships. His compatriot Christopher Isegwe had dominated the early stages of the race on a cool Melbourne morning and appeared to be running comfortably before disaster struck at the 20 km mark.

Isegwe, second at the world championships in Helsinki last year, had just taken a water bottle when he grabbed the back of his left thigh and fell to the roadway with an apparent hamstring injury. The 30-year-old tried to keep running but was unable to continue.

England's Daniel Robinson won the bronze medal in 2:14:50.

REUTERS VJ RAI0748